ISLAMABAD, MAY 17: The Supreme Court in its decision on a presidential reference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution, which is related to the status of defecting lawmakers, said the votes of defecting lawmakers will not be counted.
In the reference, President Arif Alvi had asked four main questions from the apex court.
Main questions in the reference
- Will “dishonest” MNAs be allowed to vote?
- Will the defecting members’ vote be counted, given equal weightage?
- Will the defectors be disqualified for life?
- Measures that can be taken to prevent defection, floor crossing and vote-buying
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, completed proceedings of the case today. The first hearing of the case took place on March 21 by a two-member bench, after which CJP Bandial constituted a larger bench to hear the matter, which took over news and public discourse in the country after at least a dozen members of the then ruling PTI, who were staying at Islamabad’s Sindh House, came out in open defiance of their party on the issue of the no-confidence motion submitted by the joint opposition against then-premier Imran Khan
